Photo by Nathan Clark | WCC students bypass the new rotating entrance for the standard doors on the left and right. The new revolving door at the student center was locked into an open position to allow access on Thursday while the circuitry was being repaired.
Faulty circuits on revolving doors cause confusion for students
Staff Writer
The new revolving doors leading to the freshly renovated Student Center recently had faulty circuits installed on the doors and left some students confused on how to enter and exit the building.
Dane Christiansen, a motorcycle service technology major at Washtenaw Community College, wasn’t looking when he walked into the revolving door while it was out of service.
“I thought it was going to move,” Christiansen, 22, of Ypsilanti, said. “But I wasn’t paying attention and I ran right into it.”
Since the installation of the revolving door, minor circuit shortages have left the door working intermittently, forcing some to enter the Student Center through the side doors designated as fire exits.
“I’ve just been watching people run into it,” Christiansen joked. “It’s kind of funny.”
And confusing when the emergency doors that are typically locked are needed for access.
Damon Flowers, associate vice president of Facilities Development and Operations, said that the doors were designated as fire exits to avoid outside debris entering the SC by incoming students.
“We don’t want people to go in these doors,” Flowers said. “We don’t want leaves and other things flowing in.”
Flowers also said that the use of the traditional doors during the winter could bring cold wind to students enjoying the lounge areas near the two side doors. The revolving doors help prevent the escape of heat or air in the building.
The revolving doors still have some temporary kinks that maintenance is trying to work out, such as the equalization of air pressure in the SC and adjusting the speed levels. “Mechanical devices need service and have to be repaired,” Flowers said. “We’re adjusting the speed – it’s a pretty complicated device.”
Student Chris Whitefield, 22, preferred the original sliding doors to the rotating ones because he feels that the new doors make students stand uncomfortably close together.
“You’ve got to slow down and fit in there with other people, and it’s awkward,” said Whitefield of Ann Arbor, who is working on general studies at WCC. “Some people are bigger than others.”
Flowers also said that students may begin to have an easier time with the doors once they become familiar with the speed and how they work.
“Some people may want to jump in at the last second,” Flowers said. “The speed issue is another factor.”
Other students, like Ken Rosenberg, 21, feel that the revolving door is a positive upgrade from the previous sliding doors.
“I think it lets a lot of people in without touching the door and spreading germs,” said Rosenberg, a computer networking major from Saline.
Although the doors have had a rocky start, maintenance plans to have them working properly in the near future.
“They’re tricky,” Flowers said about the mechanics of the doors. “This one has a lot of features. This week it seemed to be working fine.”
